Bennett Out For An Undisclosed Reason
- The ever-growing absence list in Florida just got longer. Panthers head coach Paul Maurice told reporters today including Stefan Rosner of The Hockey News (Twitter link) that center Sam Bennett won’t play tonight against the Islanders. He’s dealing with an undisclosed issue although Maurice added that it’s not concerning. Bennett has had a career year offensively, recording 25 goals and 29 assists in 70 games this season, with a career-best ATOI of 18:29 as well. His absence justifies the recent promotion of Jack Studnicka, who was recalled earlier today.
Panthers Recall Jack Studnicka
The Panthers recalled forward Jack Studnicka from the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers on Saturday morning, according to the AHL’s transactions log.
With A.J. Greer not eligible to return from his three-game suspension until tomorrow afternoon’s game against the Rangers, Studnicka will dress for today’s matinee against the Islanders. Evan Rodrigues sustained a broken finger in Thursday’s loss to the Wild and is out for at least four weeks, head coach Paul Maurice said postgame, ending his season.
Rodrigues’ injury brings Florida’s injured list up to 10. Six of them – Uvis Balinskis, Aleksander Barkov, Anton Lundell, Brad Marchand, Niko Mikkola, and Rodrigues – have effectively been shut down for the year. Jonah Gadjovich, Sam Reinhart, Mackie Samoskevich, and Cole Schwindt are all day-to-day and could be options in the next week, but for now, the Cats will need to dig even further into their AHL depth.
Studnicka, 27, was recalled in December after Eetu Luostarinen was sidelined following burns sustained in a home barbecue grill accident. He played a routine fourth-line role in the six weeks that followed but was held pointless in 18 games, posting a -6 rating before being waived and returned to Charlotte in January.
Once a top prospect for the Bruins, those games earlier this season were Studnicka’s first in the NHL since getting a look with the Sharks down the stretch in 2023-24. The 6’1″ center/right-winger has settled in as a top-six name in the minors but hasn’t demonstrated the offensive utility to seriously contend for an NHL job. In 34 games with the Checkers this season, he has an 8-14–22 scoring line with a +7 rating.
There’s a chance Studnicka could be on his way to his sixth organization in five years this summer. He only landed a one-year, two-way deal with the Cats last offseason and will be an unrestricted free agent again in July. He was traded from the Bruins to the Canucks in 2022, flipped to San Jose in 2023, and signed a two-way deal with the Kings in free agency in 2024 before landing in Florida.
Anton Lundell Out Two To Six Weeks
The infirmary in Florida has been growing rather rapidly in recent weeks as the Panthers wind down their season. It has expanded by one more as head coach Paul Maurice told reporters today including George Richards of Florida Hockey Now (Twitter link) that center Anton Lundell will miss two to six weeks with a rib injury.
With just three weeks left in their season, it’s fair to say that there’s a good chance that Lundell will miss the remainder of the season unless it’s the best-case scenario recovery-wise. The good news is that Maurice indicated that surgery is not required. Speculatively, if Lundell wants to keep playing after recovering, he should be cleared by the time the World Championship gets underway in May.
Lundell has missed the last two games with the injury. The 24-year-old has been asked to shoulder a much bigger workload this season in the absence of Aleksander Barkov, resulting in him anchoring the top line most nights. As more of a two-way player, it’s not a role he’s necessarily best suited for but with the circumstances, he was the logical choice to move up.
To his credit, Lundell’s point-per-game average is the best of his career at 0.69, just ahead of his rookie season. He sits fifth on the team in scoring with 18 goals (tying his career high) and 26 assists in 64 games while averaging a career-high 19:09 of playing time per contest.
This injury won’t create another emergency recall for the Panthers since he has already missed two games with Noah Gregor coming up on Tuesday. Additionally, team reporter Jameson Olive adds that winger Mackie Samoskevich could return after missing the last two games with a neck laceration. If he does, one of their emergency recall forwards would either have to be sent back to the minors or be converted to a regular recall that counts against their post-deadline limit of five.
Panthers Recall Noah Gregor
The Panthers recalled winger Noah Gregor from AHL Charlotte on Tuesday, according to a team announcement. The veteran of over 300 NHL games has been stashed in the minors for over two months after clearing waivers in January, but now returns under emergency conditions to give Florida 12 forwards for their contest against the Kraken tonight.
Results don’t matter much for the Panthers at this point. The back-to-back Stanley Cup champions are ticketed to become the first reigning winners to miss the playoffs since the Kings in 2015. Still, their current injury list, particularly among forwards, is the stuff of nightmares. In addition to Aleksander Barkov, Jonah Gadjovich, Brad Marchand, and Cole Schwindt all being stashed on long-term injured reserve, they’re without four other names – A.J. Greer due to a suspension, plus Anton Lundell, Sam Reinhart, and Mackie Samoskevich due to undisclosed, day-to-day injuries. That’s five out of their regular top-nine forwards when healthy, in addition to multiple serviceable depth pieces.
Gregor will thus get the call in a fourth-line role until Florida can get some bodies back. He opened camp with Florida on a professional tryout contract before landing a two-way deal at the beginning of the regular season. He was limited to a goal and two assists in 24 games before being waived after the holiday break. Down in Charlotte for his first minor-league action in four years, the speedy depth winger has tallied 11 goals and 17 points in 25 outings.
The 27-year-old Gregor will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. Once a 10-goal, 20-point piece with the Sharks earlier in the decade, he’s averaged only seven goals and 13 points per 82 games over his last three NHL seasons with stops in Toronto, Ottawa, a second stint in San Jose, and now Florida. If the Cats bring him back this summer, it’ll almost certainly be on another two-way pact.
Niko Mikkola, Uvis Balinskis Out For Season
Niko Mikkola‘s and Uvis Balinskis‘ seasons are over. The Panthers defenders are both out four to six weeks with a knee injury and an undisclosed fracture, respectively, head coach Paul Maurice told Jameson Olive of NHL.com. Both will be ready for training camp in the fall.
Mikkola, 29, entered the season at a high point in his career. The 6’6″, 204-lb shutdown lefty excelled in a top-four role for the Cats with a career-high 22 points and +12 rating en route to their second straight Stanley Cup. He cashed in as a result, landing an eight-year, $40MM extension late in training camp that kicks in starting next season. He finishes his 2025-26 campaign with a 3-8–11 scoring line in 68 games with a -1 rating, averaging 20:21 of ice time per game.
It wasn’t a huge dropoff by any means, but this was clearly Mikkola’s worst season out of his three in Florida. His 1.71 hits per game were his lowest since his rookie season with the Blues, and his 51.8% Corsi For percentage and 50.9% expected goals for percentage at 5-on-5 were good, but still his worst possession outputs as a Panther. He was without his usual partner, Seth Jones, for over two months due to an upper-body injury, which played a significant role in that dropoff. Jones’ injury forced Balinskis to step into a top-four role for much of the last several weeks, and those results were disastrous: just a 41.1 xGF% and a team-worst 3.16 xGA/60, per MoneyPuck.
Balinskis, 29, has been fine in a more sheltered third-pairing role on his natural left side but hasn’t been able to handle elevated minutes, especially when forced onto his off side. The 6’0″ Latvian averaged a career-high 16:22 ice time per game across 54 contests, contributing a 5-10–15 scoring line, but had a career-worst -13 rating while seeing a dropoff in his shot attempt creation from 2.61 per game last season to 2.43. He has the worst possession numbers on Florida’s blue line across the board (min. 100 minutes at 5-on-5) with a 50.7 CF%, 46.7 xGF%, and 50.2% scoring chances for percentage, per Natural Stat Trick.
With Florida out of playoff contention, the absences will only serve for depth names – namely, the recently recalled Michael Benning – to get more consistent reps down the stretch. Jones returned to the lineup a few games ago, so Florida’s defense isn’t in complete disarray, but they’re now down to six healthy names on the active roster and will likely recall a name from AHL Charlotte before tomorrow’s game against the Kraken for insurance.
A.J. Greer Receives Three-Game Suspension
After announcing that he’d be receiving a phone hearing last night, the Department of Player Safety has made its ruling on Panthers forward A.J. Greer. The league announced (video link) that the veteran has received a three-game suspension for his hit on Flames winger Connor Zary.
The incident occurred during Thursday’s game where Greer hit Zary from behind into the boards. On the play, he was assessed a two-minute minor for hooking, a five-minute major for interference, and a game misconduct. In its ruling, the Department of Player Safety noted that Greer was in control at all times. That ultimately puts the onus on him to deliver a legal check, something he didn’t do given the distance from the boards when he hit Zary from behind.
This is the second suspension of Greer’s career. He received a one-game ban back in 2023 for a cross-check on Montreal’s Mike Hoffman. Given that it has been more than two years since that suspension, he is not classified as a repeat offender for the purposes of determining forfeited salary. Accordingly, Greer loses three days’ pay (3/192 days) compared to three games’ pay (3/82) had he been a repeat offender. With his $850K AAV, that means he will forfeit $13,281.24 in salary; that money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.
Greer will miss Florida’s upcoming games on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, and will be eligible to return to the lineup a week today when the Panthers travel to New York to take on the Rangers.
A.J. Greer Will Have Phone Hearing
In a somewhat surprising development, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced it would have a phone hearing for Florida Panthers forward A.J. Greer for his hit against Calgary Flames forward Connor Zary.
Mikkola To Miss Time With Lower-Body Injury
Panthers defenseman Niko Mikkola suffered a lower-body injury on Friday against Calgary and is expected to miss some time, notes George Richards of Florida Hockey Now. The 29-year-old has been a key piece of Florida’s back end this season, logging over 20 minutes a night in a shutdown role. Gustav Forsling missed last night’s game with an undisclosed injury while Uvis Balinskis is dealing with an undisclosed injury himself. If one of those two can’t return by their next game on Tuesday, Florida would be able to utilize an emergency recall from AHL Charlotte that wouldn’t count against their post-deadline limit.
Lundell And Samoskevich Day-To-Day
- The Panthers were without a pair of forwards as they continued their road trip in Calgary. Team reporter Jameson Olive relayed (Twitter link) that center Anton Lundell and winger Mackie Samoskevich were both banged up on Thursday in Edmonton and are listed as day-to-day. Lundell sits just one point shy of matching his career high in points (45) set last season so as long as Florida doesn’t hold him out too long, he should have a chance to set a new personal best. As for Samoskevich, his second full NHL season has been fairly quiet as he has just six goals and 17 assists in 66 contests, not an ideal platform season heading into restricted free agency this summer with arbitration eligibility for the first time.
Panthers Place Brad Marchand On LTIR, Expected To Activate Seth Jones
The second half of the season is becoming clearer for the Florida Panthers, who saw multiple players progress and regress from extended injuries. Defenseman Seth Jones and center Jonah Gadjovich, both on long-term injured reserve, have each taken a step forward but both still aren’t ready to return yet, head coach Paul Maurice told reporters including Miami Herald’s Jordan McPherson.
Maurice spoke more in depth about winger Brad Marchand who will see doctors on Tuesday to determine if he needs surgery for a nagging, undisclosed injury. Marchand has dealt with the injury for most of the season, pushing Maurice to try and control his rest. That task has become tougher as a condensed back-half of the season rolls around. Marchand hasn’t been able to stand up to his top-six role since March rolled around, averaging just 13:30 in ice time over his last four games – over four minutes under his season-long average. The team expects to have an answer on his status for the rest of the season before the week ends.
After a week to weigh his decision, Marchand will indeed land on long-term injured reserve for the Panthers. This move will give the Panthers enough cap room to activate Jones off of LTIR per George Richards of Florida Hockey Now. Marchand will be eligible to return as soon as April 6th, when the Panthers have five games remaining in the regular season. If he will be healthy enough to play those games – or, if they’re worth the risk at all – will be the next question facing the Panthers winger.
Marchand has been a cornerstone of Florida’s offense, even while playing through injuries. He has scored 54 points – split evenly – in 52 games, making him one of only two Panthers scoring above a point-per-game alongside Matthew Tkachuk. Marchand’s ability to produce consistently from the first or second line has supported Tkachuk as he’s eased back from a season-opening injury and heavy role at the Winter Olympics.
The Panthers will turn towards trade acquisition Vinnie Hinostroza to fill in the lineup chart with Marchand on the shelf. He scored three goals and 10 points in 48 games with the Minnesota Wild before moving to Florida at the Trade Deadline for future considerations. He will step into a fourth-line role with the Panthers, while Eetu Luostarinen earns a bump into unrivaled, top-six minutes. Luostarinen has 24 points in 55 games this season and is in the midst of a seven-game scoring drought. He and Carter Verhaeghe should be the biggest beneficiary of Marchand’s available minutes.
Florida is missing another major piece in Jones, who ranks second on the defense in scoring with 24 points in 40 games. He led the team in ice time per-game before going down with injury, averaging 23:29 – a good stride above Gustav Forsling‘s 22:44 ranked second. Jones has stood up to a top role in Florida’s offense after being acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks for a steep price in 2025. Jones’ return will fortify Florida’s blue-line alongside Aaron Ekblad.
Meanwhile, Gadjovich’s return will round out Florida’s depth alongside waiver acquisition Cole Reinhardt. Gadjovich recorded three assists in 10 games before going down with injury on October 25th. He has missed 53 games, and the Winter Olympics, since.
The Panthers will move forward with a dented lineup as they try to climb back from an 11-point deficit in the standings. It seems they are much more likely to miss the postseason on the heels of back-to-back Stanley Cup wins, an outcome that – at the least – would allow more time for stars Tkachuk, Marchand, and Jones to work to full health by next season.